I'll Get You Out
by becksbiggestfan
Summary: Kate knows everything about her mom's case she could possibly know, how could she not? But when evidence is planted and witnesses are paid off, Kate gets framed for it. 8 years later, the FBI agent who changed her mom's case to his liking is put away and she's let out. Only, things are different. And there are still many, many secrets waiting t be uncovered... AU
1. Prologue

**Hey guys :) So this story came to me in a dream (yes, that's true) I did have to make a few adjustments, I wasn't going to include Harry Potter dressed as a playboy bunny but the main idea was taken from a dream... so... enjoy :)**

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****Prologue:

"Will the defendant please rise for sentencing." The judge called out of habit. The defendant in her dark blue blazer, black skinny jeans and blouse stood up, her long brown hair swaying and a scared twinkle in her emerald eyes. In front of her, her hands were held close together by a pair of metal handcuffs. She wasn't a police officer anymore, but if she ever did become one again, though those chances looked pretty dim, she wouldn't handcuff another suspect. "For the murder of Dick Coonan, the jury finds you, Katherine Beckett, guilty. For the murder of Diane Cavanaugh the jury finds you guilty. For the murder of Jennifer Stewert the jury finds you guilty. For the murder of Scott Murray the jury finds you guilty. And for the murder of Johanna Beckett the jury finds you guilty."

Kate let her eyes close, trying to fight off the burning tears filling up her eyelids. The judge continued, "Life sentence for the five murders, court adjourned."

"No." Kate whispered, "No." Two officers dressed in uniform walked to Kate and grabbed her elbows on either side, pulling her out of the courtroom. Before she could leave, she turned her head to look over her shoulder.

Castle was standing up and staring after her, a tear twinkling in each eye, "I'll get you out." He called. "I will." Kate's eyes lingered on her husband and then floated to the kids beside him. Alexis's face held betrayal and hurt. Next to her, Carson was staring down at his folded hands, his face stone cold. On his left, Samara was standing up, gripping the top of the wooden bench in front of her, terror covering her face and tears sliding down her cheeks.

And then the door shut, separating Kate from her family.

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**So how was it? I'll be publishing this with the first chapter so you don't have to wait to see what happens, you can thank me in the review :)**

**~~XOXO, becksbiggestfan  
**


	2. The Freedom Song

**So chapter 1 is here (chapter 2 if you want to be technical)... just so you know, the first paragraph is an excerpt from the trial, there will be one at the beginning of every chapter :) enjoy :)**

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"My name is Agent Seever. I was the lead investigator on this case. After a heated exchange with Detective Beckett, my partner and I received a warrant to search her place. Her personal files were locked up inside a safe, with a combo only known to the Detective. Among the files were handwritten receipts for the services of a hitman, Dick Coonan. We also found paperwork for a wiring account in the Bahamas registered to Detective Beckett, opened one week before the death of Johanna Beckett, Scott Murray, Jennifer Stewert and Diane Cavanaugh. My partner and I were able to trace the money used to pay Coonan back to that wiring account. In the safe there were also typed letters to both hitmen saying who to kill. It explained that a family friend would be seriously hurt if McAlister was proven innocent and let out of jail, so she needed to stop the investigation before it got too far. Detective Beckett denied ever seeing the letters, paperwork and receipts before in her life and CSU techs didn't find any fingerprints on them."

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The sun felt good. The summer wind traveled through Kate's hair and she took a deep breath. For eight years she'd been stuck behind bars of a federal prison. At first the other women went after her, they all hated cops and Kate had put away about half of the women there anyway. After a while, people forgot about her. She still got quite a few new scars, though.

Maneuvering through the large group of interviewers all shoving microphones, mini recorders and cameras into her face, Kate walked towards the road of the parking lot in front of her. The birds calls were audible from here, she'd missed that. She slid on a pair of sunglasses, letting the press know just how much she was willing to cooperate with them as she continued through the group.

A small car pulled up in between the news vans and Kate moved towards it, pulling open the door and climbing in before the press could see who she was driving with. Turning, she pulled the African American ME closer to her and into a hug. "Thank you for coming to pick me up."

"Anytime, Kate." Lanie said, refusing to let her friend go. "It's just good to see you out from behind bars."

Kate pulled back, smiling and brushing her bangs behind her ears, "It's good to be out." Things were different now, Kate didn't know what to expect. She was different and she expected her friends to have changed as well, but just by getting into her car, Kate realized that Lanie changed more than she'd thought. It made her wonder about the rest of the people in her life. "Who does that car seat belong to?" Kate asked, smiling and pointing over her shoulder at the tall car seat for a child about 5 years old.

"It's Roshaun's. Oh, I have to pick him up from school soon. Do you mind coming with me?" Lanie asked, turning to the wheel and pulling out of her parking spot. For a second, Kate's mind traveled to her own kids. Carson would be... he'd be about 16 right now and Samara would be 14.

"No, no I don't mind." Kate whispered.

Lanie looked from the road and to Kate for a second then back, "Do you want to stay with Javi and me or do you want me to drop you off at the loft?"

Kate grimaced and looked out the window next to her, "Alexis has the loft. She's not very open with me after what happened. She believed I actually killed those people."

"She feels bad about it, Kate. Alexis doesn't think you're guilty anymore. Give her a second chance," Lanie said, turning the car out of the prison parking lot.

Moving her duffel bag from her lap and setting it at her feet, Kate asked, "How do you know that?"

"Well," Lanie said, in such a way that Kate could tell there was going to be a sarcastic statement, "When you work with the step-daughter of a convicted murderer, who just happens to be your best friend, you sort of learn things about each other."

Kate bit her lip, "I don't know if she's still considered my step-daughter."

An awkward silence enveloped the car and, to change the subject, Lanie said, "Hey, honey, now that you're out of prison, there's got to be something you really want to do now. Hit a strip club, get flat out drunk, go to the beach and flash some people."

"Lanie," Kate said, turning to her friend, "I just got out of prison. I'd rather not go back."

"Fair enough." Lanie nodded, "But there still has to be something you want to do."

Kate licked her lips and looked at the street, "Yeah, there's some things I'd like to do." She could think of one in particular; see her family, Castle Carson, Samara. That wasn't something she could do. "I want a cup of coffee. A good cup, from Starbucks. And I want to go back to work."

Lanie held up one hand, "Let me get this straight, Kate. You get out of jail and all you want is a cup of coffee and to go back to the job that got you sent away in the first place?"

"Being a cop didn't get me arrested, looking into my mother's case and being an idiot about it did." Kate muttered, looking out the window at the street whizzing by. Lanie slowed down the car and turned it into a parking lot. "Wait, where are we going?"

"You want some coffee from Starbucks or not?" Lanie asked, snagging a spot in the shade.

Kate sat up straight, "Ooh, yes. My treat."

Taking the keys from the ignition, Lanie scoffed, "How are you going to pay? You've been in prison for 8 years."

After a playful flick of her eyebrow, Kate reached into her duffel bag and pulled out a wallet, "I got a very generous settlement for losing 8 years of my life. They got me a credit card. I'm buying." Lanie shook her head, getting ready to argue, but Kate quickly added, "They also gave me back my gun."

"What was that thing you said earlier about not wanting to go back to prison?" Lanie asked, climbing out of the car. Kate shot Lanie one of her looks as she exited the car, too. "You know, there's a nice little clothing store next to Starbucks. If I were you I'd want to get some clothes other than the ones I wore to prison 8 years ago."

Kate nodded, "Yeah, okay."

Fifteen minutes later, they were back in the car, both with cups of coffee in hand and Kate with a new bag of clothes. Once Lanie pulled off into the street, Kate unzipped her pants and began to pull them off. "Whoa," Lanie cried, "You're changing here?"

Kate looked up from searching through her bag for one of the pair of pants she'd bought, "Yeah, I've changed in front of you before."

Nodding, Lanie chuckled, "Yeah, but never in a moving car."

"Eh," Kate shrugged, sliding on her new pair of pants. And then she pulled off her blazer and blouse, revealing a gray tank top. She picked a green v-neck t-shirt up off her lap. As she yanked off the tags, the shirt slipped onto the floor of Lanie's car. Kate leaned down to grab it and something on her shoulder caught Lanie's eye.

Lanie's hand came up and covered her mouth in shock. For the first time she really got an idea what life in prison had been like for Kate. Someone had carved a 'C' into Kate's shoulder with an 'X' over it. Lanie had seen the same type of scar on real dirty cops after stints in prison who'd landed themselves a spot on one of her tables. When she looked back, it was covered by Kate's new shirt and the woman was sliding on a pair of black pumps.

"So, are you, uh," Lanie started, trying to push the image of the scar from her mind, "Are you going to go back to work?"

Kate shrugged, pulling her hair into a bun, "Yeah, it was part of the settlement, homicide detective 2 again. Think I'll start again in a couple of days. I don't know, whenever I find a place of my own. Maybe I'll start tomorrow, I would sort of like to get back, you know?"

"How much time did you spend in solitary, Kate?" Lanie asked, trying to stop from laughing at how much she rambled.

Glaring at Lanie, Kate said, "So. How's Ryan?"

"Good. Jenny just had another baby couple months ago, so he just got back from leave. That's their third kid. Dalton is 9 now, Ari is 4 and then there's Regan." Lanie said, turning the car into an elementary school parking lot. "All the kids go to the same school, you'll probably see them here."

Kate looked out the window at the sign over the school's entrance and it was like a punch to the gut. She never thought she'd be back. After a moment's silence, she shook her head and whispered, "This is where Carson and Samara went."

Lanie stopped climbing out of the car, one leg out the door already, "Oh. Maybe you should stay in the car." Kate shook her head, like a little kid and then continued climbing out of the car. Lanie led Kate into the small school, kids were crowding the hallways in their uniforms with their backpacks covering their shoulders. "Roshaun's class is this way."

"Look." Kate said, pointing at someone, a flash of excitement flooding her face, "It's Ryan. I'm going to go say hi."

"K." Lanie smiled, "I'll just go grab Roshaun and meet you over there."

Smiling, Kate nodded and moved towards Ryan. When she got close, she set her hand on Ryan's shoulder. The detective spun around, a smile spreading across his face when he saw his old friend, "Hey, Ryan."

"Beckett," he cried. "You're out!" Ryan wrapped his arms around his former boss. When he stepped back, pulling the waist line of his pants up a little farther, he gestured to the two children by his side. "This is Dalton and Ari."

Setting her hands on her knees, Kate leaned down, "Hey. My name is Kate."

"You're the cop that's been in jail for 8 years, right?" Dalton asked, Ryan looked down like he was about to say something to Dalton.

"That's her." A woman's voice said, a little hostile.

Kate straightened up, sighing, "And Alexis is here, too." Ryan stepped aside, revealing the red head, a teeny look of fear flashing over his face, he knew that Alexis and Kate didn't have the best track record when one had a bone to pick. The girl's arms were crossed and she looked mad. "You've got kids here, too?"

Alexis shrugged, "Maybe. You want to get them killed, as well?" Kate licked her lips and looked away from the girl's eyes, sorrow covering her face for a few seconds before she regained composure.

"Lanie told me you thought I was innocent." Kate answered, taking on a similar look of hostility that Alexis had.

"Of killing those 5 people you were convicted of killing, yeah. You still got my father and my little brother and sister killed." Alexis hissed. "He was trying to get you out of prison."

"I didn't mean to." Kate whispered, averting her gaze to the ground. "I didn't think they'd end up being shot."

Alexis scoffed, "Yeah. Of course not. Because being shot yourself while investigating your mother's death wasn't a big enough warning sign, you had to gamble the rest of your family's lives, too."

Blinking fast, Kate whispered, "No. That's not what-"

"Congratulations, you lost them." Alexis turned around, "Come on, Khaida. Let's go. I'll send your old things to Lanie's place, Kate."

Kate turned around, forcing a smile, one tear falling out of her left eye. She sort of expected someone to act a lot like that, but Alexis was the last person she'd thought it would come from, they had too much in common. Ryan stepped closer, "Don't listen to her. Since Castle, she hasn't really been the same."

"None of us have. I'm going to go." Kate whispered, turning to leave

A man, this time, called out after her, "Hey, Kate. Carson's mother, right?" Kate turned around, brushing the tear from her cheek, and forcing another smile. "He had a little sister, right? How are they?"

Kate paused, her mouth half open, "They're dead," and then she left the school.

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**Okay... This first chapter is a little weird, I dunno if it was very good, I promise the later ones get better, I wrote this at about 2 in the morning after I had the dream. I tried to go over it and make it better but don't think it was the best rewrite. Review please!**

**~~XOXO, Becksbiggestfan  
**


	3. Scars

**Here's the second chapter... sorta wanted to hold off a little longer but decided not to... too excited :) enjoy...**

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"I'm Dr. Lanie Parish. I'm an ME and I've worked with Detective Beckett for a long time. We met when she was just a uniform and I was just an assistant medical examiner when she responded to a disturbance call and found a dead body, over fifteen years ago. We hit it off immediately, been friends ever since. I knew there was a reason she was a police officer, took about a year for her to open up and tell me about her mom, though. She told me all she knew about it, which wasn't much back then since it was closed by Raglan as random. Kate didn't get very far in the investigation until Castle came along and dug around a little himself. That's when she found out Diane Cavanaugh, Jennifer Stewert and Scott Murray were killed, she didn't know that before. Then Dick Coonan surfaced and there were connections to her mother's case. In the end, Kate did shoot him because he threatened to kill Castle. He wasn't able to tell her who hired him before he died. I know Kate Beckett. She wouldn't be able to kill her own mother. Or even hire someone to do it. It's been, what, almost 20 years since Johanna Beckett died and Kate still can't sleep at night sometimes."

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Captain Gates motioned to an empty desk, "That's yours. Detectives Esposito and Ryan are under your command, once again. They're already on a case, settle in and join them when you're ready. And detective?" Kate's gaze jumped up from the nearly empty desktop to her boss, "It's good to have you back."

"Thanks, sir." Kate called as her boss walked back to her office. A small smile spread across her lips, as she looked around. The bullpen looked exactly the same. It was the only thing that stayed the same. She'd been invited to dinner at the Ryan's house a few nights back, with all the kids he and Jenny really weren't the same. Lanie didn't up and grab drinks anymore. Her dad had retired and spent most of his time golfing or relaxing at the cabin

Setting her purse onto her desk chair, Kate pulled out a couple framed photos, one of the kids, one of her wedding day, one with her parents when she was a teenager and one of her with her working family. Then she pulled out her phone and dialed Esposito's number.

"Yo, Beckett. Just coming up on the elevator." Esposito said, Kate looked up at the elevator and saw the two detectives walking off. The Hispanic one held the phone out away from his ear and let the top close. "So, Ryan and I are going to head off to the woman's federal prison to talk to a suspect's sister. Wanna tag along? We'll fill you in on the case on the way over."

"Dude." Ryan whispered, shaking his head. "She just got out of that place. I don't think-"

Kate nodded, "I'll go. Maybe I can help."

Esposito and Ryan shared a glare and then gestured for Kate to follow them. During the car ride, the boys discussed the murder, the different angles they'd worked. By the time they got to the prison, they'd hit all details of the case they needed to.

Kate climbed out of the car telling herself she could do this, but by the time she made it to the front door she could she was starting to chicken out a little. Taking a deep breath, Kate followed the boys in through the door. Immediately the security guards there began laughing, "Hey look at that. Joan of Arc is back. Couldn't stand her boys? Don't worry, we all felt the same way."

"I think you must have gotten her confused with someone else. This is Detective Beckett, I'm Detective Esposito and that's Detective Ryan." Esposito said, Kate cast him a thankful smile. The security guards had always treated her a little like meat while she was in there.

One of them chuckled, "Detective? That's cheap. Get sprung out of prison and then make other people go through all the crap you had to go through."

Ryan took one step forward, "Hey. This is a police officer you're talking to. You show her respect because one call from me and you won't be able to get a job at the county jail in Mayberry."

"We'd like to talk to Queenie." Kate said, setting her hands on her hips. The security guards both gritted their teeth and then led the two off to the desk where the three signed in. After forking over their firearms, one security guard guided the two into an interview room.

"Take a seat. I'll bring Queenie right out." He said, walking out of the room.

Once the door was shut, Kate turned to the other two detectives, "Thanks for having my back guys. Those two were always asses."

"No problem." Ryan called, from the corner of the room where he was perched against the wall, waiting for the convict.

Esposito jerked his head towards Kate, calling her attention, "So. Joan of Arc, huh? Didn't know that was your nickname. Sort of makes sense, you know? Joan of Arc got all these victories like you arresting all kinds of murderers. Then she ended up getting burned by the enemy. That's what happened to you. Maybe I should shut up now."

"Good idea, I am best friends with your wife." Kate deadpanned. The door opened and a woman with long blonde hair, wearing an orange jumpsuit came in, she had the look of seeing more than anyone at her young age should have seen. "Hey, Queenie."

Queenie took the seat in front of Kate, her eyes narrowing, "Heard you got out, Joan."

"It's Detective Beckett." Kate snapped.

The blonde woman shrugged, "What's it matter. Once a criminal always a criminal."

"Yeah, except I wasn't a criminal." Kate hissed underneath her breath, folding her hands and setting them on top of the table.

"Hey. None of us are guilty in here, right?" Queenie chuckled.

Kate nodded slowly, "Yeah. Except," She started again, a twinkle in her eyes, "I'm not innocent like the rest of the people in here are innocent."

"What?" Ryan whispered.

"What do you want?" Queenie asked, rolling her eyes in boredom.

Kate shrugged, leaning back lazily in her chair, "What I want? I want you to tell me about your sister. Specifically, where she is."

Queenie scoffed, "I've been in this joint for 11 years. How the hell do I know where she is? We weren't very close anyway. Couldn't tell you if I was free."

"I don't believe you." Kate whispered. "You see, there's two things that everyone thinks about while they're in prison. Getting revenge on whoever put you there and your family. I know I thought about the people I love every day."

Pushing her chair back, Queenie looked around the room, "I didn't love my sister. She pushed me down the stairs when I was 8. You don't mind if I walk around, right? Missing my yard time right now and I need my exercise." Kate let her eyes wander over to Esposito and Ryan slowly, telling them with a look to be alert.

"I'm fine with it." Kate shrugged, as Esposito moved towards the corner opposite Ryan's, so now they were both standing behind Kate. "So, has your sister's address magically popped into your mind just yet?"

As Queenie walked a circle around the small room, she hesitated and then answered, "Not just yet. Let me think about it. I might think a little faster with a shorter sentence."

Kate's eyes narrowed, "Well, how about this. You think about where your sister lives and I'll think about a shorter sentence."

"Deal." Queenie said, continuing walking around. After about a minute, Queenie stopped and turned towards Kate, crossing her arms. "Anna lives in an old warehouse in the Bowery with her skank of a boyfriend." Kate nodded, and moved to stand up, but Queenie set her hand on Kate's shoulder keeping her down. Both Esposito and Ryan stepped closer. "What about my shortened sentence?"

Kate glared at the table in front of her, restraining herself from turning around and kicking Queenie's ass. "I said I'd think about it. I did and I decided not to. Let's go, boys." Once again, she tried standing up, but Queenie pushed harder.

With her other hand, Queenie slid the sleeve of Kate's shirt over her left shoulder down a little, revealing the scar. Ryan and Esposito shared a look. Picking up her finger, Queenie traced the lines, "I remember giving you this little doozy. I can give you a matching one on the other shoulder, if you'd like. I'd be more than happy."

"Okay, that's it." Esposito muttered. He moved forward, and grabbed Queenie's arm. "Keep your hands off my boss. We're done here." The detective escorted the criminal out of the room, scowling. Once it was just Ryan and Kate in the room, Ryan pulled out the chair next to her and sat down, turning towards her.

"You wanna talk about it?" Ryan asked. After a moment of silence, he added, "I know you don't really like talking about what happened while you were in jail, but if you want to," his voice trailed off.

Kate bit her lip, staring at the table, "Three weeks in, she pinned me to the ground in the yard and carved the letter 'C' into my shoulder. It's the marking cops get while they're in the joint. After they get marked, they've got one week to prove they can mix in with one of the big crews. If you do, the sign for that crew is carved over the 'C'. If you don't, an 'X' is placed over it, and it's like having a hit out on you in jail. Almost every bone in my body was broken at one time or another. I've got more scars than I can count. Screws, a couple cadaver bones, two plates as replacement for my knee caps and a piece of my nose bone is missing. And then suddenly it all stopped."

"When did that happen?" Ryan asked slowly, leaning his elbows on his knees.

For about a minute, Kate stayed quiet, and then she whispered, "The day Castle, Carson and Samara were shot when they were visiting me in the yard." Her eyebrows moved closer together. "I can still taste the blood, smell it, feel it on my face. And then I have to remind myself that it was washed off 6 years ago."

"You know Gates made us close the case, but Javi and I are still looking into it outside of the precinct. We're not going to give up. We miss those guys just as bad as you." Ryan answered.

Kate frantically shook her head, "No. You can't. You need to close it before what happened to my family happens to yours."

"Beckett, if we don't look into it, their death's will never be solved." Ryan cried.

"Listen to me very carefully." Kate said, slowly, steadily and seriously. "Close the case, Kevin. You get used to the disclosure quickly." With that she got up and walked out of the room as though she hadn't just bared the details of the darkest moments of her prison life.

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**So how was this one? I know it takes a little while, but trust me it gets soooo much better just wait it out! Please! Review and let me know what you think!**

**~~XOXO, Becksbiggestfan  
**


	4. Whiskey Lullaby

**Hey so meant to post this like two days ago but I've been busy and I've also been getting caught up writing the next chapters that I completely forgot! So this was originally 2 chapters but I decided I need to get on with the story just a little faster. If you guys think this would work better as two chapters I'll edit it and repost it as such :)**

**Quick question: Have you guys seen the youtube video Ultimatum yet? If not go check it out! OMG best Caskett video ever! Almost the entire cast retweeted it, it's that good! PM me and I'll send you the link if you'd like :)  
**

**Enjoy :)**

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"My name's Carla Baglien. I'm a college student at NYU and I have a part time job at the Pine Tavern bar. A few years back, I was working the night shift, covering for a friend, and Detective Kate Beckett was there. She had a few too many glasses of Scotch, if you know what I mean. I listened to her talk about her work, her friends, some TV show. Then she started to talk about, uh, some deep stuff. She told me that when she was 19 she hired a hitman to kill her mom and a couple of her mom's friends as well. The detective also said she killed that hitman before he could tell anyone she was the one who hired him. At first I thought she was just making it up, people can make up some pretty weird stuff when they're flat out drunk. Then a few months back, I saw her on this news story about how the FBI was looking at her for hiring a hitman to kill her mom. So I knew I should step forward."

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_ "I'll get you out." Castle said, from across the cement table of the prison yard. Kate was smiling at him and the children, Carson sitting to his left and Samara to his right. "I think I figured it out. I'll send what I've got to the lawyer tonight. How are you holding up in here?"_

_ With a quick glance towards the children, Kate considered what to say. She didn't want to tell them she couldn't go a day without being beat up. She didn't want to say it, but she knew they knew. They could see the bruises covering her face and skin. The casts, or stitches or scars or scabs. "I'm holding up."_

_ "Mom?" Samara asked, Kate wondered when she'd started calling her mom instead of mommy. "When are you coming home?" There was pain covering her face._

_ Kate shook her head slowly, "I don't know, baby. It depends whether-." She was interrupted by three gunshots, one after the other. Three red circles blossomed on the chests of the people that sat in front of her. The people she loved most slowly fell off the bench. Kate began to breathe hard in panic, her eyes wide. Standing up, Kate moved to try to help them, but her hands were cuffed to a bar stretched across a small dip in the table. "No!" She screamed, yanking at the handcuffs. Suddenly guards were surrounding her, removing the handcuffs and pulling her, against her will, towards her cell. "No! Castle! Samara! Carson! No!"_

_ The metal barred door slammed closed with a lock and Kate collapsed onto her bed, sobbing. When she closed her eyes she saw the image of her family being killed flash in front of her again. Whipping her eyes open, the smell of iron filled her nose. Her face was wet, she realized. Lifting her shaking hand, Kate wiped her cheek bone. Once her hand was in her line of sight, she could see the blood covering her fingertips._

Kate screamed and jumped, shooting straight up in her bed. Her whole body was shaking and she threw the covers off and raced to the bathroom. Standing over the sink, Kate splashed cold water on her face, scrubbing the skin. After a minute, Kate slowly stood to look at the mirror, still shaking. It wasn't the first time she'd caught herself trying to wash the memory of the blood off her face after that dream.

Drying her face with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, Kate walked from the bathroom, through her empty apartment and into the kitchen. She'd bought the apartment, but felt no desire in furnishing the place with stuff other than the absolute necessities. At the fridge, Kate pulled out a bottle of vodka and screwed the cap off the neck, before pouring a big gulp down her throat.

Swallowing the alcohol, Kate slammed the glass down onto the island counter, staring off at the window in front of her. After a few more swigs, Kate reached into the drawer beneath her and removed her gun, setting it on the table as well. By the time the clock on her phone flashed 7:30 and a new text from Esposito about a dead body, half the bottle of Vodka was gone.

Kate took a shower, pulled her hair into a bun and slid on a clean set of clothes, slacks, blouse and a blazer. Then she grabbed her keys and her gun and left.

The crime scene was fifteen minutes from her apartment and, with the alcohol in her system, she got there in ten. Shutting the door behind her, Kate walked towards the yellow tape and slid the keys into her pocket.

"Detective." One of the uniforms said, Kate gave a half smile, nodding his way as she dipped slightly under the tape he was holding up for her.

"Yo! Beckett!" Esposito called, waving Kate's way. She turned and walked closer to him. "So, the victim is Queenie's sister. Guess we didn't need her address after all."

Kate shrugged, "Maybe I'll go tell Queenie myself."

Esposito looked around from the left and then to the right, before stepping closer to his boss, all joking aspects of his tone were gone. "Beckett, have you been drinking?"

"What?" Kate cried.

"I can smell the alcohol on your breath." Esposito whispered back. "What was it, Kate? Whiskey? Scotch? Vodka?" At the last one Kate averted her eyes. "You have to be careful, maybe you should take the day off, I'm not going to be the only one that notices. I'll cover for you."

Kate shook her head, "I'm fine." With a little glare, Kate turned and headed towards the body to get a second look.

As she stalked off, Esposito pulled out his phone, dialed a number and listened to the ringer. When he heard someone answer, Esposito said, "Hey, it's Javier Esposito. We went to the academy together? Yeah, yeah. I need a favor."

Two days passed and Kate hadn't slept well either of the nights. She had the same dream of her family dying. If she tried to fall back asleep it was others, Montgomery, Royce, her mother. It kept going until she stopped trying to sleep and drank herself through to the morning. Things had gotten tougher at work, it wasn't just Esposito that knew, or at least suspected it, anymore.

Esposito gave her pointed looks, trying to send a message, he had friends who'd suffered PTSD and turned to the alcohol. Ryan would sneak her mints or gum to try and cover up the strong stench. Lanie tried to lock herself in Kate's house to see if there was a way she could keep her best friend from drinking, Kate kicked her out and then Lanie threatened to call Kate's dad.

Now, Kate was driving on the freeway, gently tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. Behind her a cop's siren wailed a couple of times, telling her to pull over. Kate rolled her eyes and did as the cop wanted. As the uniform stepped out of his own car and walked closer to Kate's, the detective rolled her window down.

"Hello, officer." Kate called, trying to sound friendly.

The uniform wrapped his hands around his belt, saying, "Good morning, detective. License in registration, please." Rolling her eyes, Kate handed over her driver's license and her papers. Once the uniform checked it he said, "Detective Beckett, how much have you had to drink today?"

Breaking eye contact, Kate sighed, "I don't know. A couple glasses."

"Of what?" The officer said, crossing his arms after handing back Kate's belongings.

"Vodka." Kate muttered.

The uniform held up a finger, "Excuse me for a moment." He pulled a cellphone from his pocket and dialed a number, setting the phone against his ear. "Hey. I've got your friend right here. Yeah, sure, I'll wait." Then he hung up his phone and gave Kate a smile.

Kate held her hands out, "Are we waiting for anything in particular, officer? Or can I go now because I've got a death I should be investigating right now."

"Should have thought about that before you drank alcohol and chose to drive." The officer answered, perching against Kate's car. He was obviously pushing her buttons, and quick. Time passed, Kate wasn't quite sure how much, but it felt like half an hour by the time the taxi pulled up.

A medium sized man with gray hair stepped out of the car and leaned back in to hand the driver some cash. Kate rolled her eyes and looked at the uniform. "You called my dad on me?" The uniform shrugged and stood up to greet Jim.

"Hello, Mr. Beckett." He said, shaking Kate's dad's hand.

"Hello, Mike. Thanks for doing this." Jim answered and then he looked at his daughter then back at Mike, and asked for him to give the two a minute. Smiling, Mike walked back to his own car. Jim leaned over the open windowsill looking in at Kate. "Katie, we've got to talk."

Looking away from Jim, Kate stared straight out the window in front of her, "Can I at least get out of the car?"

After a shrug, Jim said, "Depends. Are you going to try to run away?" When Kate didn't answer, Jim took it as a yes and left it at that. "Katie, I told you you had to be very, very careful with alcohol. I had trouble with it, my dad had trouble with it and his mom did as well. You could just as easily carry that gene and from the looks of what you're going through, my guess would be you do."

"I'm fine." Kate cried, crossing her arms.

"Katie." Jim answered in a similar tone. "I'm worried about you and it's not just me. You're friends are, too. They know something's up."

Kate gritted her teeth and said through them, "I am fine."

Shaking his head, Jim waited before saying, "That's exactly what I said to you. Look, honey, I know you went through hell while you were in that prison. Being beat to a pulp everyday for almost a year and a half. Having to watch your husband and children shot right in front of you without being able to do anything. Stuck behind those bars for 8 years knowing that everyone thought you killed your own mother. I understand why you turned to the bottle, but you've got to stop."

"I just had a couple drinks." Kate assured, shaking her head.

"And that could very well be all it takes." Jim snapped. "There's better ways to work through your pain than alcohol. That's what you taught me, remember? You told me I should talk to someone. I only had you back then. You've got me, Lanie, Ryan, Javi, Madi's called me a couple of times to talk to you. All of them, well except Madi, know something isn't right. They can see you're not acting normal."

Kate scoffed, "Normal? What's normal for me, dad?" She turned to look at him finally. "The out of control teenager? That closed off 20 year old? Maybe it's the determined one who became a cop? What about the damaged woman after she'd been shot? Could be the woman who was beat up in prison everyday? Or the broken one when she saw her entire family shot two feet in front of her? Maybe normal for me now is being chased by nightmares all night until I get a couple drinks. That's it."

"You cannot rely on the drink to make you feel better. You told me that, too. Remember?" Jim asked, after a moment of silence, Kate nodded her head. She'd turned her head back to the front window, a few tears jumping into her eyes, but she wasn't saying anything. "What else did you tell me?"

"I said a lot of stuff, dad." Kate whispered, all emotion taken from her voice.

Jim nodded, like that was true, and said, "What about what you said when I told you, 'Every time I refill my drink, I'd promise myself that this one, this one, would make me forget all about Johanna. But all it did was make the pain worse because I knew it wasn't what Johanna would have wanted'? What did you tell me?"

A small chuckle escaped Kate's lips, "I told you so."

"And then what did you do?" Jim asked, he didn't look too thrilled to be rehashing this.

The smile faded from Kate's lips, "I said that 'God never gives you anything you can't handle' and then I took the gun from your hand."

"God never gives you anything you can't handle." Jim whispered back. "Let me ask you something, Katie. What would Rick do if he were here now and knew you were drinking?"

Kate laughed and looked away, tears filling her eyes, "He'd probably handcuff me to the radiator and pour all the alcohol down the sink."

After Jim laughed as well, he changed his question, "What would he say to you?"

All the fun was lost in Kate's voice as she continued, "He'd say, I'm stronger than this. That there are a lot of people out there that care about me and don't want to see me going down that road. Then he'd be strong with me, refuse to drink, too." Kate's voice trailed off, "I miss him so much. I'd do anything to see him and the kids again."

Jim pulled open the door, "Scoot over, Katie. I'm driving you home."

* * *

**Sorry for any typos, I don't have a beta, just throwing that out there. So how was it? Good? Bad? Should it have been two separate chapters? You'll see the next chapter and realize why I mashed these together :) I think...? Review and let me know how you like it, where you hope to see this go, or any questions and I'll do my best to respond! Thanks!**

**~XOXO, Becksbiggestfan  
**


	5. Ghost of You

**Hey guys! So, I'm doing this personal check type thing. I write a chapter and then publish one (I'm four chapters ahead) so that I don't get caught without anything to publish and have to throw something to together or worse, drop the story. Plus I was at a double sleepover at my besties :) Anyway, enjoy :)**

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"I'm James Beckett, Katie's dad. My wife died when Katie was at Stanford, studying to be a lawyer. She was back in New York for the weekend and Johanna and I wanted to grab some dinner with her. Johanna called before and told me she found some stuff on the case she was working and would probably be a little late for dinner. 15 minutes she said, tops. But before Katie and I knew it, 15 minutes passed, then 30, soon enough 3 hours had gone by. We figured Johanna had just gotten wrapped up in work and lost track of time, she did that sometimes. So we decided to head back to the house. When we got there, Detective Raglan was waiting for us, he told us Johanna was dead. Katie was so shocked she ended up losing her dinner. She locked herself in her bedroom for a few days, wouldn't come out. Katie knew Johanna's friends Diane and Jen, they'd come over for dinner every once in a while, she liked them. I'm not really sure if she'd ever met Scott, though. Katie had a rough time as a teenager, she made some bad mistakes, but there's no way my daughter could ever do something like this."

* * *

The files were spread out over Kate's island counter. They stretched from one corner to the next so that you couldn't see any of the granite counter top underneath it. She'd tried to stop looking into it, she did. And she'd lasted for a while, Kate hadn't looked into it since she'd gotten out of jail. But she'd gone to bed early to try and catch up on sleep and the nightmares had come again and she'd promised her father not to drink anymore. The only thing she felt she could do now, was investigate.

It was like a carousel ride. She could keep staring at the pictures and notes and files as long as she wanted, but she would still end up in the same place that she started once she finished. Every once in a while, she'd piece together a new theory, and then Kate would realize that it was the same theory she'd gotten fifteen minutes ago, just worded differently.

A loud rumble from her stomach made her realize that she hadn't allowed herself a break for an hour. Deciding her eyes needed a break, Kate pushed the stool she was sitting on back away from the island and hopped off, walking off to the fridge.

As she pulled on the handle, Kate remembered that she hadn't run to the store so the only thing on the shelves would be that stupid alcohol. She was about to shut the door before she had to see it again, but something caught her eye. Again, she switched the force on her hand, pulling the door open the rest of the way.

It was filled. The fridge was filled. With milk, vegetables, fruit, bread, peanut butter, jam, dressings, condiments, meat, anything she could really need. On the carton of milk was a piece of paper taped to the side, with the words 'Honey, you have got to take better care of yourself'. Kate grinned and rolled her eyes. Lanie knew her too well. She'd always been able to know what it was Kate was thinking, or not thinking.

Kate extended one hand towards a bag of grapes. When her fingers brushed the plastic, Kate tightened her fingers into a fist and then it stayed still before floating off towards the two bottles of alcohol. Grabbing one, Kate brought it into her left hand and took the other with her unoccupied hand, pushing the door closed with her elbow.

Setting both bottles down on the counter, Kate spun the cap off one, held it up and then turned it upside down over the sink. She held her chin up and refused to let herself reconsider anything she was doing. This was for the best. For everyone.

When the first bottle was empty, Kate moved on to the second one. Half way through, Kate's cellphone rang. She'd slid it into her pocket earlier just to keep track of time, she sort of had a bad habit of losing time. Pressing the accept button on her phone, Kate placed it against her ear, still pouring out the contents.

"Beckett." Kate said, trying to rearrange everything in her hands to a more practical position. Whoever was on the other end didn't answer, but Kate could hear heavy breathing. "Hello? Is someone there?"

"Mom?" A girl asked, timidly.

Kate's hand with the bottle dropped until her wrist was resting on the edge of the sink. She took a deep, jagged breath and whispered, "Samara?"

"Yeah." She answered, sounding a little guilty. Kate set the bottle down and walked slowly towards the stool she'd abandoned earlier.

"I thought you were dead." Kate said, quietly, unable to raise her voice.

Samara forced a chuckle, "That's what you were supposed to think. You and everyone else. I think I'm breaking every single rule in the book by calling you."

Kate brushed some hair behind her ear, "How are you?"

"We're fine. Mom, I don't have much time before someone knows I'm calling you." Samara said, lowering the volume of her voice.

"We?" Kate asked. "Your dad and Carson, are they alive, too?"

Samara hesitated, "Dad is. Carson didn't make it." Her voice trailed off for a few seconds. Kate felt like Carson just died all over again. "Mom, I have to ask, are you looking into grandma's case again?"

"Where are you?" Kate asked, "Can I come see you guys?" A couple of tears fell out of her eyes.

"No, you can't." Samara said, her voice cracking as though she were crying as well. "Are you investigating Grandma's case again?"

After a moment's pause, Kate nodded, "Yeah, yeah I am."

"You have to stop." Samara rushed, "You can't keep looking into it."

"Why," Kate's voice wavered and she sniffed, "Why not?"

Samara let out a quiet sob, "Please, just stop. We both want to come home, but this is not the way to do it. If you keep investigating, we could really die. Eventually we'll be able to come home, mom, but not now. Not like this. Please," Samara said, her sobs becoming louder.

"Okay, baby, okay. I'll stop." Kate nodded, brushing the tears off her face. "You're smart, Samara, you know that?"

"All honors classes." Samara said, "I have to go, mom."

Kate sat upright, "Wait, if I want to talk to you guys, how do I?"

Samara took a deep breath, and whispered, "You don't. Bye, mom."

"Samara, wait." Kate cried, but the girl had already hung up. Once the phone was on the counter, Kate stared off into space for a few seconds and then her eyes closed. Her forehead leaned against her palm, her elbow balanced on the surface of the counter top. Tears slipped out from under eyelids and her shoulders began to shake.

They were alive.

* * *

**So was it any good? When I reread it it sounded sort of cheesy... Please leave a review and let me know how you think the story's going and where you want to see it go! Seriously, I'm hitting a wall in a few parts of this story... Anyway, thanks for reading!**

**~XOXO, Becksbiggestfan  
**


	6. Worried About You

**Hey guys! I've held off posting this for a while because I am completely blocked on where to go. I've got about two more chapters written out and then after that... yeah I've got nothing. If any of you are willing to help me out I would be so grateful. Anyway, enjoy :)**

* * *

"I'm Christopher Jacobs, I've known Katie since we were both 7. Her mom and my mom worked together. I'd say Katie and I were pretty close, at least until she went all wild and weird when she was 16. Um, she was like a sister to me, though. That's how we were together, you know. Sometimes we'd get along so well, have a lot of fun together, laughing and throwing noodles at each other over the dinner table. Other times we can't even say one word to the other without getting annoyed. My dad was killed when I was six by Gary McAlister, he tried to kill me, too, but I got away. So when Johanna started looking into the case that got McAlister sent away, I knew that if she found something that proved his innocence he'd be let out of jail and he'd come after me. I asked Katie to ask her mother to stop looking into it. I never expected Katie to have Johanna killed, it doesn't surprise me though. The two could never get along longer than fifteen minutes. If you ask me, Katie always had a bit of a thing for me."

Lanie set the dirty dishes into the sink, shaking her head, "Remind me again why I said it was all right with me that your mother stay with us for a few days?"

"You said she should spend some time with Roshaun." Esposito answered, reaching around his wife and putting a few wine glasses on top of the plates.

Turning towards the array of leftovers on the island with a box of plastic wrap in her hand, Lanie muttered, "Yeah, well, I lied."

"She's not that bad," He said, taking the dishes she'd already covered and putting them in the fridge. When he turned around, Lanie was standing there with her look of attitude covering her face and her hands on her hips.

"Javier," Lanie cried, "She drank half the bottle of wine in four minutes. She treats you like some kind of baby and me like I'm one of those criminals you arrest. And Cinderella at the same time. Where's your gun?"

Esposito sighed, "I've told you a million times, you can't shoot my mom. And she's not that bad." Esposito's phone beeped indicating a text, and he picked it up from the counter.

"Javier! Javier!" His mom called from the living room. "Is that your work? Do you have to go catch some bad guy now?"

He turned to look at Lanie, whispering, "Maybe you're right."

"Maybe?"Lanie hissed, quietly.

Esposito turned around, "No, mama. It's just my friend."

"Okay, well, tell your friend I say hello, Javi bear." She called back.

"Okay, mama." Javier said.

Lanie set the plastic wrap in a drawer and straightened up, muttering, "Did I mention she sounds like a dying duck?"

"Three more days." Esposito muttered, finally reading the text. At the message, Esposito smiled just a little and began typing one back.

"Who's that from?" Lanie asked, curious, turning and leaning against the side of the island.

After looking up from the screen and then back down, Esposito said, "Just Jim."

"Jim?" Lanie's eyebrows moved together, "Do you know a Jim?"

"Yeah, Beckett's dad." Esposito said as though it were no big deal.

Lanie's eyebrows moved up her forehead in shock, "Okay. Why are you talking to Beckett's father?" Esposito didn't answer, sliding his phone back into the pocket and taking the bowl of salad to the fridge. "Javi, why are you talking to Jim Beckett?"

Esposito shrugged, "I don't know. I just needed his help, that's all." Then he turned and began to walk back to the living room, muttering something about making sure his mom wasn't scarring Roshaun for life.

"Javier Esposito, get your ass back here, right now." Lanie called, crossing her arms. "Why did you need his help?"

Sighing, the detective turned around, "I just wanted to knock some sense into her. About her drinking."

Lanie shook her head, and took a few steps closer to Esposito, "I want to help her, too, but calling her dad is just going to piss her off and make everything worse."

"I had to help her, Lanie. All she's got is us and the job. If she loses the job because of drinking-"

"She doesn't lose us!" Lanie cried, holding out one hand.

"I know," Esposito snapped, "But we're friends because of work. We'd have less time to hang out with her, which would just make her drink more."

Tilting her head, Lanie said, "She's my best friend, Javier. I don't think I like you sneaking around behind her back and mine."

"I wasn't sneaking around behind anyone's back. I was just helping out a friend." Esposito said slowly, maintaining a normal volume level.

Lanie turned to the freezer and pulled out a carton of ice cream, "Which, conveniently," she slammed the carton onto the island counter, "was something you did without telling me. I think that would be sneaking around behind my back, Javier. I get you want to help Kate, so do I." Now her back was turned to get the ice cream scoop. "But pissing her off and making her feel violated is not the way to do it. You know this."

"I just wanted to help." Esposito cried. Sighing, Lanie set the ice cream scoop onto the counter and moved closer to the detective.

After she gave him a kiss, Lanie returned to the carton of ice cream, pulling off the top, "I know sweetie, I know, but you have to be careful. Next time, consult the meddling queen. So what exactly did you do?"

Esposito walked towards the cabinet to pull out a few bowls, and muttered, "I had an old friend of mine who's a uniform pull her over for drunk driving. Then he called me and I called Jim to go talk to her."

"And the student becomes the master." Lanie muttered, popping a small amount of ice cream into her mouth. Her phone rang by her side and she pulled it out of her pocket. "Parish." She answered.

"Hey, Lanie." Kate said.

"Kate." Lanie said, "How's it going, honey?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line and finally, Kate said, "I just got a call from Samara."

Lanie looked up and cast a concerned glance at Esposito, "Samara. Samara called you."

"I know it sounds bad." Kate said, quietly, "But she did."

"Kate," Lanie said, slowly and her tone sad. "Samara's been gone for 6 years. How much have you had to drink?"

"Nothing." Kate answered, excitedly. "Lanie, she and Castle are alive."

Lanie sighed, "Kate, seriously, what have you been drinking?"

"I'm not drunk!" Kate snapped, growing annoyed fast. "Samara did call me."

"Kate Beckett, as your friend," Lanie started, Kate groaned, "I am worried about you and," Lanie stopped because there was a couple gun shots on the other end. "_What _was _that_? Are you okay?"

"I was proving to you that I am not drunk." Kate exclaimed.

Lanie rolled her eyes and deadpanned, "So, you thought you'd shoot something to prove to me that you weren't because over the phone I can totally see how accurate of a shot you are."

"Yeah," Kate started under her breath, "In retrospect, that probably wasn't the best idea. I think I need a new microwave."

Pushing out all air through her mouth making her cheeks puff out, Lanie said "Okay, I'll be there in fifteen minutes, don't shoot anything else."

"Lanie," Kate started.

"No argument, I'm coming over." Lanie interrupted, walking towards the door.

"Okay," Kate answered, "but you should know I live 30 minutes away from you."

Lanie paused, thinking, "Fine, I'm taking Javier's car."

Esposito's head whipped up, "What?"

Chuckling, Kate said, "Lanie, only cops can drive cop cars."

"Then Javier's coming with me." Lanie muttered.

* * *

**Okay, so how is the story going? I know I've sort of strung it out a little. Pretty much because I have absolutely no idea what to do next. Anyway leave a review and tell me what you think, I really appreciate any and all feedback. Just so ya know, I'll post again soon, but I'm going out of town to go college touring... and I don't know if I'll get internet connection. But I'll be back by next Monday for soccer tryouts (wish me luck!)  
**

**~XOXO, Becksbiggestfan  
**


	7. That's What Friends Are For

**Here's chapter 7! I'm sorry it took sooooo long to post this one! Well I hope you like it and everything!**

* * *

"I'm Madison Queller, I own Q4, it's a restaurant in Manhattan. Detective Beckett and I have been friends since high school, we had French class together. We were those girls you went to if you wanted to have a good time. Every high school's got a couple of those. Becks and I got detention together, we got suspended together, once we almost got expelled together. She used to get in really big arguments with her mom, like when she came home with her motorcycle or Johanna's friend saw her working at this strip club when she was 18. They couldn't even get through dinner without a fight starting up. I know that must sound really bad, but it was a phase, like an image, you know? When it was just the two of us, though, she wasn't like that, she was real. The real Becks was this sweet, funny and ridiculously smart girl. First of all, Becks, even though she fought with her mom a lot, really looked up to her and loved her, she could not have killed her. Second of all, she spent every cent she had on that motorcycle."

Lanie opened Kate's front door, calling, "Hey." She turned and shut the door, swinging her purse down onto the small table to her right. The lights were off and the ME flicked them on, it was a habit with a five year old son who was afraid of the dark. "Kate?" Lanie asked, wondering why she had yet to answer. As she turned around, she saw her best friend, her head rested down on her crossed arms, with a pile of pictures underneath.

After a sigh and a shake of her head, Lanie walked closer to the counter and began to clean up, grouping the pieces of paper in a straight pile. Once that was done, Lanie set them beside Kate and moved to the sink. Beside the stainless steel sink, was an empty bottle of vodka and, on its side inside the sink with drips spilling out into the drain, was a nearly empty whiskey bottle. Letting the rest of the whiskey fall down the sink, figuring that's what Kate had been doing earlier, Lanie picked up the two bottles and carried them off towards the recycling bin. The walk made her pass the microwave and she glanced closer to it, suddenly remembering Kate's incident with the appliance less than half an hour before.

At the sight of each and every number shot out with a bullet, Lanie chuckled, "Damn."

Kate sat up, gasping, looking around. Once her eyes landed on Lanie, Kate sighed, closed her eyes and rubbed her eyelids with her finger pads. "Lanie, you scared me. Why didn't you knock?"

"We haven't knocked since we were in our twenties. Did you really do that to your microwave?" Lanie said, pointing over her shoulder at the white busted microwave. Kate shrugged, sleep still pulling at her eyes a little. "I didn't mean to wake you up. I can go if you want."

Shaking her head, Kate stood up, "No, no I'm fine. I haven't slept well the last few nights, is all. Oh, just to let you know, you took 20 minutes to get here, not 15."

"Accident." Lanie muttered and then she gestured to the pile of papers she'd just organized. "I thought you said no one could look into it anymore."

After a one shoulder shrug, Kate rolled her neck, stretching it as she said, "I couldn't really sleep and it seemed better than," her voice faded for a minute as she rethought her words, "option B."

"And that's when Samara called?" Lanie asked, leaning over the counter and setting out her forearms on the cold top.

Kate slowly nodded, "And that's when Samara called." A smile spread across Kate's face and tears leaped into her eyes, "She sounded so grown up. They're alive, Lanie. Castle and Samara are alive."

"What about Carson?" Lanie asked quietly. Kate's face fell and she shook her head, one tear sliding down her cheek. Extending an arm, Lanie set her hand over Kate's, "I'm sorry, sweetie."

Forcing a smile, Kate sat up straighter, brushing away the tears as though she were okay, "So. What do you think? Witness protection program?"

Lanie let out a loud laugh, "I think you've spent too much time with Castle." Kate's gaze fell into a glare angled at her best friend. "Okay. I'm sorry." Lanie cried, holding her hands up in defense, smiling in a teasing way and then set her hands on the counter top. "Yes, witness protection program is the most logical possibility."

"They could be hiding by themselves, Castle's got those kind of connections." Kate suggested, shrugging.

"Honey, please. This is Richard Castle we're talking about. Of course he went into the witness protection program." Lanie chuckled. "If Samara called you does that mean they're coming home soon?"

Once again Kate looked sorrowful and she took a long deep breath, "I don't think so. She said told me that I had to stop looking into my mom's case. But," Kate shook her head, "if I don't stop they could really die. And if I don't continue the person who backed them into this corner won't go away, so they'll never come home. What do I do?"

Opening her mouth, an answer on the tip of her tongue, Lanie changed her mind, knowing Kate wouldn't like what she had to say. Instead, the ME looked away from her best friend and towards the rest of the apartment. "I think it's time you put some stuff in here. Make it more at home, you know, photos on the walls, some lamps, some art, a couch might be nice, too."

...

Kate pushed open the coffee shop door, jerking her head off to the side to get her hair out of her face. She had on a black blazer, with the sleeves rolled and bunched up to about her elbow, a white blouse and black skinny jeans with her usual high heels. Slung over one shoulder was her favorite bag, holding her phone, one of Castle's books, her off-the-clock gun since it was a Saturday and anything she could possibly need.

At a table in the corner sat a woman with long, honey colored hair, her back to the door. Taking a deep breath, Kate walked closer to that particular table. As she came around the edge of the table and into the view of the woman, Kate smiled, "Hey, Agent Shaw."

Shaw looked up from her phone and, at the sight of the detective, stood up, holding out her hand, "Hey, detective."

"Thanks for meeting me for coffee." Kate said, shaking the Fed's hand before taking the seat across from the one Shaw was occupying.

With a shrug, Shaw sat back down, "It's the least I could do, I mean, you did help catch a serial killer. And it's Jordan."

Sliding her bangs behind her ear, Kate smiled and looked down at the tabletop, "Kate. So, how's your daughter? What's her name again?"

"Mia." Kate nodded in remembrance and Shaw continued, "She's doing pretty well. Off at med school in California, she wants to be a pediatrician. How's everyone at the precinct?"

"Good." Kate nodded.

Shaw tilted her head, "I'm sorry." Kate gave the agent a questioning look, confused. "I heard about everything. The marriage with Castle, the kids," Shaw's smile slipped, "the arrest, Castle and your kids being shot at the prison, being let out. I was friends with Seever."

"Was?" Kate asked.

After a beat, Shaw said, "He used to be a good agent. Did everything by the book, solved every case and got the real killer. And then he lost a high profile case, a dangerous man got sent out on the street. Something changed in him and he began to do everything to get a conviction of the person he thought was guilty. Planted evidence, paid off people to either disappear or make up some story."

A silence fell between them, the waiter came and dropped off two coffees, Shaw had ordered for Kate. They began to talk about work, life, whatever small talk topic popped into their minds. Finally, Shaw gave Kate a very 'Lanie' look and said, "Look, detective, not that this hasn't been nice, or anything, but why did you want to meet?"

"I need a favor." Kate rushed. Shaw nodded and leaned closer, folding her hands on the tabletop, letting Kate know she was game. "I got a call from my daughter a few days ago."

Shaw's eyebrows moved together, "The one that died 6 years ago?"

"Yeah. Only she didn't die." Kate said, "I think they're in the witness protection program."

Sitting up straight, Shaw shook her head, "Kate, I know where you're going with this. I'd really like to help you, but you've seen the movies. You must know the rules."

"I'm not asking you to tell me where they are or to get me in contact with them. I just want to know if they are." Kate said slowly, lowering her voice.

After a minute of quiet to think, Shaw answered, "I'll see what I can do, give me a minute." She picked her phone up off the table, searched through her contacts before selecting one and setting the phone to her ear. "Hey, it's Shaw. Good, listen I need a favor. Can you tell me if Richard Castle ad his daughter are in the program? I know it's not protocol, but it's for a case. Richard Castle. Thanks, I owe you." Hanging up, Shaw looked over at Kate.

"What did she say?" Kate asked, eagerly.

"You know how this works." Shaw said, seriously. Kate nodded and Shaw sighed, "Yes."

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**Ummm yep. Not the best chapter AT ALL. I know what you're all looking for and yes it will be here soon, I promise!**

**~XOXO Becksbiggestfan**


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